49ers Lose Two Key Pass-Catchers to Injuries, Could Miss Time in Weeks Ahead
The San Francisco 49ers came away with a 17-13 win against the Seattle Seahawks to start the 2025 NFL season, but it may have come at a great cost. Jauan Jennings and George Kittle suffered injuries that prevented them from finishing the season opener, which makes an already depleted room of pass-catchers that much thinner entering their Week 2 showdown against the New Orleans Saints.
George Kittle and Jauan Jennings Set to Undergo MRIs This Week
The 49ers offense got off to a red-hot start against the Seahawks with a 14-play 95-yard touchdown drive that was capped off with a five-yard touchdown reception by George Kittle from Brock Purdy to give the 49ers an early 7-0 lead. Unfortunately, Kittle would sustain a hamstring injury later in the first half and would not return.
This development wasn’t ideal, but the 49ers still had Christian McCaffrey, Ricky Pearsall, and Jauan Jennings to lean on in the passing game moving into the second half. In another stroke of bad injury luck, Jennings sustained a shoulder injury that forced him out of the game as well.
Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports provided an update for the pair of starting pass-catchers by writing, “The San Francisco 49ers will send both George Kittle and Jauan Jennings for more testing after both players were injured in Week 1. Kittle hurt his hamstring in the 49ers’ win. Jennings injured his shoulder. Both players will undergo MRIs to determine the severity of their injuries.”
These tests will likely determine how much time both Kittle and Jennings could miss in the coming weeks. If either player were to be sent to Injured Reserve (IR) for the next four weeks, they would miss games against the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Los Angeles Rams.
Kittle finished with four receptions for 25 yards and a score while Jennings posted just two receptions for 16 yards in the season opener.
How Will These Injuries Impact the 49ers Offense Moving Forward?
The Niners may have come away with the victory, but the offense did show signs of impact when both Kittle and Jennings left the field against Seattle.
Purdy’s final stat line 277 passing yards, two TDs, and two INTs showcased both his strengths and weaknesses over the span his first game of the 2025 NFL season.
Early on, he was efficient, accurate, and on-time with many of his throws. Yet, as the game pressed on and the injuries forced players down the depth chart into larger roles, Purdy started to press and put the ball in harm’s way a bit more frequently — which resulted in a pair of turnovers.
Jake Tonges stepped up three receptions for 15 yards and a game-winning score in the fourth quarter after Kittle left with the aforementioned hamstring injury. Yet, the Niners didn’t get much production from the rest of the WR room once Jennings went down.
Pearsall finished wth four receptions for 108 yards, but after Jennings exited the game in the second half, no other 49ers WR caught a pass throughout the rest of the contest.
If either of these starters miss any time moving forward, it will be interesting to see which WR can contribute to the passing attack until Kittle, Jennings, or Brandon Aiyuk return to the lineup.
Packers Star Xavier McKinney Unfazed by Controversial Taunting Flag Against Lions
Early in the second quarter of Sunday’s showdown with the Lions in Green Bay, Packers star safety Xavier McKinney did something so many players in the history of the league have done before him. He blocked an opponent to the ground, and subsequently stood over him.
The opponent was Kalif Raymond, and neither he nor McKinney was involved in the play, which saw Kiesean Nixon push lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs out of bounds. But as Raymond got up to engage in a minor confrontation with McKinney, something odd happened. A flag came in and McKinney was whistled for a 15-yard penalty on a pretty innocuous play.
The play was was unusual to say the least, and met with much disdain by fans on social media. but it is part of the new “respect for opponents” emphasis the league has enacted this season. It didn’t hurt the Packers in their 27-13 drubbing of the Lions, but it could have.
Xavier McKinney ‘Probably’ Did Taunt
McKinney admitted after the game that he did stand over Raymond, and did not seem too concerned about it. The Lions ended up with a field goal on the drive.
“I probably did,” McKinney said when asked about standing over Raymond. “But hey, it is what it is. I had to set the tone not just for our team but for our defense of how we want to play. I’ll take the flag, I’ll live with it, it’s all right.”
LaFleur was livid with the officiating crew when the play unfolded. After the game, he was being diplomatic but clearly disagreed with the call. When he was first asked what he saw on the play, he shot back at a reporter, “What did you see?”
But he went on: “Worst case scenario, they should’ve been offsetting (penalties). But they saw it differently.”
Packers Known They Must Keep Composure
Still, the league has made plain its attempts to clean up unsportsmanlike behavior on the field, and even sent a memo to each team to hammer home the point last month. LaFleur said his team is aware of the point of emphasis.
“We’ll definitely address that again. We can’t do that,” LaFleur said. ‘We’ve got to be better than that. Football is an emotional game, and I understand. I love these guys getting excited about playing. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on on the field, but you’ve got to keep your composure and your poise, especially when you’re playing a really good football team.”
McKinney added: “Going forward, I’m going to toe the line. If I get a flag, I’ll learn from it, but I’m going to toe that line. Obviously, I’m a smart player so I understand when I can and can’t do it, but this type of game, I had to set the tone and that’s just what it was. And we’ll live with it.”
